UCLA Here I Come!

Seeing this letterhead marked the happiest day of my life thus far! I came to SBCC with goals of transferring to UCLA, and now I'm proud to say that my dream school has become my reality! It's great knowing that all my hard work over the last few years has paid off. I will be majoring in Psychobiology and I can't wait to start taking upper division classes! It's always nerve-racking moving to an unfamiliar place and starting something new, but I'm confident that my time at SBCC has prepared me for just about anything and that I'll excel wherever I go. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunities SBCC has provided me with over the last three years! I may now be a Bruin, but I'll forever be a Vaquero!

One Last & Final Class at SBCC

I was under the impression I had completed all the general education classes required for an associates degree; however, after talking with an academic counselor I realized that I need to take one more class. I'm still able to participate in the graduation ceremony this May, but ended up having to enroll in one last class at SBCC before I transfer. Once completed, I will receive an associates degree in Chemistry, Biology, and a Liberal Arts A.A in Science and Math. This is the first Summer that SBCC is offering two different sessions, which is great for people who wanna finish up some classes. Despite being the poster boy for Summer Session 2, I decided to enroll in session 1 and will be taking "History and Appreciation of Rock and Pop Music" online since I'll be spending my Summer back home in Santa Cruz.

It's pretty funny seeing this poster of myself and fellow blogger, Hannah, all around campus. Apparently postcards were also sent out to the Santa Barbara area so don't be surprised if you get a picture of me in the mail! I guess the message to take away from this blog is to enroll in Summer classes, if necessary, and make sure you have completed all your required classes (hopefully before graduation) so you don't end up in my position.

Want to See Two SBCC Professors go Head to Head??

I usually blog about things I've already done, but today I'm gonna change it up and blog about something I'm going to be doing! Tomorrow afternoon (4/9/15) from 4:00-5:30 I'll be moderating a joint lecture/debate/Q&A/ between two SBCC professors in room PS101 (Physical Science Building on East Campus). Philosophy professor Marc Bobro and biology professor Blake Barron will be discussing/debating the Shifting Boundaries between biology and philosophy: think evolution, genetic modification, Darwin vs. Freud. This is the second ever Prof-Off hosted by the SBCC Honors Program and I'm glad to have had a role in making this event possible. It would be great to have as many people show up as possible so please stop by tomorrow if you're free! Questions from the audience are encouraged, and greatly appreciated by me since it will make my job as a moderator much easier! Hope to see you there! For more info on this event and future SBCC Honors Program events go to our website http://sbcchonorsprogram.org/

Successful Spring Break!

Where I Stayed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

I was planning to keep everyone up to date on my Spring break adventures but I ended up not having internet access where I was staying in Mexico since I chose not to pay $20 a day for wifi. It ended up being really nice to disconnect from social media: no texts, emails, phone calls, snapchats, instagram etc... Without these obstructions I was way more relaxed during break! The only downside was sorting through 6 days worth of emails once I landed back in the States; it's scary how fast they accumulate! This was my first trip to Mexico but definitely not my last. My days consisted of hanging out beach side, paddle boarding, snorkeling, lounging by the pool, eating non-stop and trying my best to forget that I had to leave this paradise after my 5 day stay. I wish I was still there, but I had to come back to reality eventually. I hope everyone else had a great spring break as well!

One of the most incredible sunsets I've seen!

Rooftop Infinity Pool 

 

   Attempting a Headstand

while Paddle Boarding 

Spring Break is Almost Here!

Spring break is right around the corner! Only 4 more days of school, 1 midterm, and 3 assignments to go until I'm off for a week. Every year I go on a family vacation during break: two years ago it was Houston & New Orleans, last year we went to Portland, and this year my parents, sister, and I will be heading down to Puerto Vallarta for a few days. This is going to be my first trip to Mexico so I'm pretty excited! I'm also looking forward to spending some time with the Fam; now that my sister and I are older, and no longer live in the parental's nest it's became increasingly harder to find a time where all of us can get together. This is also my first spring break not having an exam, paper, or project due immediately after I return. It will be nice not worrying too much about school over break. Unfortunately, I have an O-chem and physics exam the following week so won't be completely off the hook.  Hopefully I'll get some beach and pool-side studying done while lounging in Mexico (No guarantees though)! I obviously don't have any pictures to show for this trip yet, but I'll make sure to take plenty and share them on my blog! Instead, I'll post a picture of what I'm leaving behind while on break plus some photos from previous spring breaks. It's funny that as I leave, there are gonna be tons of tourists flooding Santa Barbara to vacation here. I'm lucky to live in a place where many people only get to visit while on vacation, such as the people on this cruise ship.

The Cruise Ship that regularly passes through Santa Barbara

     

Downtown Houston 2 years Ago                        

My Sister and I in New Orleans

Hanging out on Bourbon St. in New Orleans 

My Sister and I in Portland Last Year

Portland 

Japanese Garden in Portland 

Morning Rituals

Sunset is cool and all, but sunrise is something that is much less frequently talked about. Santa Barbara is one of the few places where it's possible to see the sun rise and set over the ocean because of the direction it faces. Lately I've been waking up early to catch the sunrise during my morning runs. It's nice starting my days off like this especially since the mornings have been so warm lately. One of the best parts about sunrise is that I'm able to avoid the crowds; as you can imagine there's very few people awake at this time, especially in a college town. The photos below were taken during one of my recent morning runs in Isla Vista!

Admitted!

One admittance letter down with one more to go! I'm stoked on my first acceptance letter after five months of waiting! If I end up going to UCSB I would be majoring in pharmacology with an emphasis in neurobiology and behavior. From what I hear this is a pretty rigorous major, but I've looked into the upper division classes and it seems like something I'm extremely interested in. I'm still waiting to hear back from UCLA and unfortunately am going to have to wait until the end of April. UCLA is notorious for waiting till the very last day possible to inform their applicants. Lets hope UCLA, like UCSB, brings me good news!